Prog Island Album Game: Round 1, Heat 1!

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Which tracklist do you prefer?

  • Axver's tracklist

    Votes: 4 25.0%

  • GibsonGirl's tracklist

    Votes: 12 75.0%
  • Total voters
    16
  • Poll closed .
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Axver

Axver

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Please vote for the tracklist you LIKE THE MOST.

Welcome to the very first heat of the B&C Prog Island Album Game! This competition is essentially edition 2.5 of the Desert Island Album Game, serving as a mini-tournament bridging the gap between the second and third editions, and we are trialling some new format ideas. This tournament alters the basic premise of the game a little. Instead of being stranded on a desert island and seeking the best tracklist to enjoy while there, we're heading off to Prog Island to savour the best that the prog genre has to offer. There is a strong emphasis in this competition not just on good individual songs, but on creating a cohesive work of musical art.

In a repeat of the opening round of the Desert Island Album Game II, the tournament begins with a clash between Axver and GibsonGirl. Below, you will find their tracklistings. This heat, like all those in round 1, will last 48 hours. All subsequent polls apart from the final will last just 24 hours.

If you are not familiar with the songs, leave your e-mail address. We have links! :)

Forum name: Axver

Mycover.png


Axver writes: An announcement is being made in sound: the ties that bind music and the shackles that constrain artistic expression have fallen away. My tracklist's purpose is to demonstrate that reality. It seeks to explore music as a means of expression using progressive rock as the vehicle. It is an arrangement of moods and atmospheres that sometimes complement and sometimes contradict; it is a process to stimulate the senses and captivate the imagination with ideas fully realised; it is an overview of how times and eras are both distinct and inextricably linked. Travelling from the birth of prog with King Crimson's 21st Century Schizoid Man to the present day's musical eloquence in Porcupine Tree's Anesthetize, An Announcement Is Being Made In Sound showcases the many faces of prog: technical proficiency of unparalleled calibre (Spiral Architect's Purpose), political awareness (Magellan's Estadium Nacional), soaring majesty (Utopia's Overture), and emotional depth and sincerity (Transatlantic's Stranger In Your Soul). It even achieves a festive touch, courtesy of Trans-Siberian Orchestra's unique approach. And beyond musical and thematic depth, there is an underlying geographic depth: New Zealand's Split Enz, Bahrain's Osiris, Norway's Spiral Architect and Circus Maximus, and the Anglo-Israeli Blackfield collaboration. If prog rock has been there, an announcement was made in sound. Listen and savour it.

My tracklist decisions are explained in more detail here for anyone interested: http://axver.livejournal.com/368156.html

An Announcement Is Being Made In Sound
1. Frost* - "Hyperventilate" - Milliontown (7:31)
2. Utopia - "Overture: Mountaintop and Sunrise/Communion With The Sun" - Ra (6:54)
3. Marillion - "Assassing" - Fugazi (7:02)
4. Opeth - "Closure" - Damnation (5:15)
5. IQ - "You Never Will" - Dark Matter (4:54)
6. Under The Sun - "Gardens Of Autumn" - Under The Sun (5:03)
7. Pineapple Thief - "Kid Chameleon" - 137 (6:56)
8. Rush - "Red Barchetta" - Moving Pictures (6:10)
9. Queen - "Ogre Battle" - Queen II (4:08)
10. Day Shift - "The Alternative Magpie" - Imaginary Menagerie (8:05)
11. Circus Maximus - "Glory Of The Empire" - The 1st Chapter (10:27)
12. Symphony X - "The Accolade" - The Divine Wings Of Tragedy (9:51)
13. Anathema - "Judgement" - Judgement (4:20)
14. Indukti - "Cold Inside... I" - S.U.S.A.R. (4:05)
15. Riverside - "The Curtain Falls" - Out Of Myself (7:59)
16. Pink Floyd - "Sorrow" - A Momentary Lapse Of Reason (8:49)
17. King Crimson - "21st Century Schizoid Man" - In The Court Of The Crimson King (7:21)
18. Spiral Architect - "Purpose" - A Gathering (6:59)
19. Pure Reason Revolution - "The Intention Craft" - The Intention Craft single (4:13)
20. Camel - "Rhayader" - The Snow Goose (3:02)
21. Magellan - "Estadium Nacional" - Impending Ascension (11:16)
22. Osiris - "Fantasy" - Osiris (6:00)
23. Spock's Beard - "Walking On The Wind" - Beware Of Darkness (9:09)
24. Blackfield - "Miss U" - Blackfield II (4:13)
25. Neal Morse - "Where The Streets Have No Name" - One (Special Edition) (5:48)
26. Trans-Siberian Orchestra - "Christmas Eve / Sarajevo 12/24" - Christmas Eve And Other Stories (3:25)
27. Subterranean Masquerade - "Kind Of A Blur" - Suspended Animation (3:12)
28. Split Enz - "Time For A Change" - Second Thoughts (Remastered) (4:04)
29. Passengers - "Always Forever Now" - Original Soundtracks No. 1 (6:23)
30. Porcupine Tree - "Anesthetize" - Fear Of A Blank Planet (17:42)
31. Dream Theater - "Trial Of Tears" - Falling Into Infinity (13:05)
32. Transatlantic - "Stranger In Your Soul" - Bridge Across Forever (26:06)
Total run time: 3 hours, 59 minutes, 27 seconds (239:27)

Forum name: GibsonGirl

GG writes: I must have gone through at least twenty different ideas and track combinations before eventually settling on this playlist. I wanted to include a few songs with progressive elements that wouldn't scare away anyone at Interference trying prog for the first time, as well as songs that would appeal to seasoned fans of the genre. As a result, my list is a bit 'mainstream' at times (if you could use that word to describe prog, ha) with one or two songs that are not strictly progressive but are certainly influenced by it. And what would a prog competition be without a concept? I started off with Pink Floyd's "Echoes" for a reason - some songs (but not all, for the sake of variety) subtly 'echo' other songs on the playlist. Some of these 'echoes' are more obvious (e.g. "Echoes" and "The Bright Ambassadors Of Morning" share a lyric in common) and others are more obscure (e.g. there is a small vocal melody in "Let It Grow" that sounds rather similar to one in "Dogs".) I did this to create an extra sense of cohesion between artists who are all very different. There were four songs that I simply had to leave off, and those have gone into my 30 minute
contribution for the Supertracklist. Check out the long Eloy suite for some fantastic music (just try to ignore the horrible German accent on the vocals) and "It's A Long Road" from Supertramp's incredibly under-rated debut album. Hope you enjoy it.

1. Pink Floyd - "Echoes" - Meddle (23:28)
2. Nektar - "Let It Grow (Radio Promo)" - Remember The Future (3:51)
3. Genesis - "Firth Of Fifth" - Selling England By The Pound (9:37)
4. Kayak - "Reason For It All" - See See The Sun (6:30)
5. Yes - "Siberian Khatru" - Close To The Edge (9:00)
6. Utopia - "Hiroshima" - Ra (7:15)
7. Gentle Giant - "Three Friends" - Three Friends (5:26)
8. Änglagård - "Jordrök" - Hybris (11:11)
9. Camel - "Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider" (9:17)
10. Supertramp - "School - Crime Of The Century" (5:34)
11. Kayak - "Trust In The Machine" - Kayak (8:18)
12. Van Der Graaf Generator - "Man-Erg" - Pawn Hearts (10:21)
13. Pink Floyd - "Dogs" - Animals (17:08)
14. Roger Waters - "4:50 AM (Go Fishing)" - The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking (6:59)
15. David Gilmour - "Murder" - About Face (4:59)
16. King Crimson - "One More Red Nightmare" - Red (7:07)
17. Queen - "Bicycle Race" - Jazz (3:02)
18. Rush - "Beneath, Between And Behind" - Fly By Night (3:04)
19. David Sylvian & Robert Fripp - "20th Century Dreaming (A Shaman's Song)" - The First Day (11:53)
20. Passengers - "United Colours" - Original Soundtracks 1 (5:30)
21. Ozric Tentacles - "Jurassic Shift" - Jurassic Shift (11:04)
22. Richard Wright - "Along The Shoreline" - Broken China (4:36)
23. Pure Reason Revolution - "The Bright Ambassadors Of Morning" - The Dark Third (11:56)
24. Porcupine Tree - "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here" - Deadwing (12:02)
25. Marillion - "Chelsea Monday" - Script For A Jester's Tear (8:17)
26. Ayreon - "Time Beyond Time" - Into The Electric Castle (6:04)
27. Porcupine Tree - "Radioactive Toy" - On The Sunday Of Life (10:00)
28. Anathema - "One Last Goodbye" - Judgement (5:23)

Total runtime: 03:58:52

UP NEXT: Liamcool vs Supertracklist

Competition master list.

A diagram of the competition's format will be made soon.

Have fun in 10 different time signatures!
 
Well, this was a tough vote - like I'm sure all the rounds will be. If I don't make it to the semi-finals, I think this will definitely be my toughest match.

Nonetheless, I chose to vote for myself, more due to personal preference than to any perceived quality superiority. GibsonGirl may have me beaten in terms of cohesion and flow, but the style of prog represented in my tracklist is a little more to my liking.

I'd like to take the chance to offer some extended thoughts on GibsonGirl's tracklist and highlight what I perceive to be the positives and the negatives.

1. I feel the first half is overloaded with classic, traditional prog. Thank goodness for Dogs! My attention began to seriously waver during the Van Der Graaf Generator track.
2. The PF/Waters/Gilmour segment? Genius. Shame that Waters ruins his track with awful female backing vocals.
3. The David Sylvian/Robert Fripp --> Passengers segue is absolutely fantastic. It's just a shame Sylvian and Fripp lose their focus a bit during the track.
4. Holy crap, tracks 23 to 28 are just incredible. Easily the best part of the tracklist. I even enjoyed about half of Chelsea fucking Monday, and it works in context. Everything in that section is just perfect. I was especially delighted to see that classic of ultra-early PT and popular encore track, Radioactive Toy, show up near the end. Give me ... radioactive toy!
5. The entire atmosphere, flow, and cohesion is done impeccably well. I'm not sure if anyone has a better sense of cohesion. Maybe Screwtape. Everything is so inextricably linked. I'll be listening to this more; I'm looking forward to the tracks I don't know so well growing on me in future.
 
This was a tough decision because both playlists are superb.

Gibsongirl’s playlist is one of my favorites. She has the best opening in my opinion. She also might have the best mood and flow. I absolutely adore her concept of the ‘echoes’ and I found myself engrossed the playlist’s atmosphere. The whole thing is fantastic.

Axver’s was no different. I equally loved his concept. The middle and end of his playlist are among the best in the competition. I personally preferred Axver’s songs for the most part to Gibsongirl’s but preferred her flow. Oddly enough, the exact opposite of what I felt in the last game. :huh:

This came down to the same thing that decided this match in the last game. Gibsongirl’s playlist has a certain quality that is a bit hard to explain. I suppose you might describe it as spacious, organic and cinematic in nature. I still can’t put my finger on it but that quality really appeals to me and is something unique to every other playlist I’ve heard. For that GG gets my vote.

On a side note, I’m really glad the two of you have enjoyed Utopia. Hopefully, more people will get into them and Todd Rundgren. Good luck to the both of you through the rest of the competition. :wave:
 
Wow, 4 votes already. Shame only one is for me!

Wonder if we'll actually get to 10 votes overall? :wink:
 
I consider the voting secondary to what I feel is the primary enjoyment for doing this - the experience of discovering new music and listening to old favorites in unique and diverse sequences. And every one of the entries overwhelmingly succeeds with this, which makes the voting portion of this very frustrating.

Nonetheless, here are my thoughts regarding Round 1.

Axver has many songs that I was previously unfamiliar with, but the way they are presented here works very well. I think there's a bit too much focus on later stuff and not enough classics represented, but that's a minor negative in my eyes because of how good the songs are.

In each of my reviews, I want to highlight one song that I didn't know previously that really blows me away. For Axver's list, that song is The Curtain Falls by Riverside. Absolutely stunning.

I probably would have picked a different Pink Floyd song - Sorrow is decent and the best tune from A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, but there is much stronger material that would have worked just as well here (even something from The Division Bell, perhaps).

Neil Morse's cover of Where The Streets Have No Name is pretty good, but it seems out of place to me. Perhaps because it is such a well-known hit that isn't associated with progressive rock. I also would have chosen a different Blackfield song as I'm not particularly fond of Miss U.

On the other hand, I loved the inclusion of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, despite the fact that it's a holiday track. Also, the opening trio is very good and flows nicely.

But to me, the highlight of Axver's set is easily the final three songs. An epic conclusion if there ever was one. It just doesn't get any better than that.


GibsonGirl, as others have already mentioned, has a beautiful flow to her list. I love the opening segment, specifically the first five songs. They go from one to the next with ease, as if they were originally released that way. Out of the songs I wasn't familiar with previously, the second song here (Nektar) is awesome - very Floydian sound. I feel the sequence loses a bit of momentum after that and tends to meander for a while, although the inclusion of Supertramp's School cannot be ignored. Excellent track.

The middle trio of Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, and David Gilmour is awesome, but at this point I think we're starting to rely a bit too much on Pink Floyd-related tracks. I would at least have left out Richard Wright, who appears later, as I think five songs associated with Pink Floyd is a bit much. As everyone knows, I'm as big a Pink Floyd fan as anyone else here, but I think having this much hurts the diversity of the tracklist a bit.

I'm not a big Marillion fan, but the end of GibsonGirl's set, from Pure Reason Revolution to Anathema, is the highlight of this for me, even with the Marillion track included. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here is one of my favorite Porcupine Tree songs, and I also really enjoyed the inclusion of Radioactive Toy - I was hoping someone would have early PT represented (I would have myself, but having two PT songs already on my list squashed that). And Anathema wraps it all up perfectly.

So as you can see, it's quite impossible to vote for one based on all of this. For me, it came down to which songs I found more interesting and more listenable - in other words, ones that would tend to get more repeat plays from me. There were more songs on Axver's list that accomplished that, so he gets my vote.

Tremendous job on both lists, however. Well done to you both. :up:
 
These were the first two I downloaded and listened to, and as an entry into listening to prog, Gibby's was an easier transition. I love the Floyd, Pure Reason Revolution, and King Crimson tracks.

I dug Axver's too, but some of the songs I had to skip half-way though. Maybe I have a short attention span, maybe it was too late at night, I don't know, but that Transatlantic track was like pulling teeth for me.

Some of this reminds me of the Wilco song Spiders (Kidsmoke), which clocks in at about 10 minutes long. It would make a really good 5 or 6 minute song, but the way it's structured makes it sound like it goes on forever - the longest 10 minutes of your life. Maybe live it's great, I'd probably agree, but to me it's too long. I think that may be the same issue with some of these tracks.

I did really like both of them, and it was hard to make a decision :up:
 
i'm not gonna vote as prog isn't really my thing, but i just had to take a peek at the track listings. :up: axver for finding a split enz song to put on there :up: and stephanie put up a david sylvian song :heart:
 
How long is each round?

I've already listened to GibsonGirl's but haven't really found the time to listen to Axver's. I started last night but it was late and I find that I have to be in a particular mood to really sit through some of this music. It's not the music's fault, there's just something wrong with my mind. :wink:

I'll give it another shot today if I have time...if not, I'll just vote for in the other rounds (unless I find the time to listen to Axver's before the poll closes).
 
Axver said:
Wow, 4 votes already. Shame only one is for me!

Wonder if we'll actually get to 10 votes overall? :wink:
Click to expand...

I guess there won't be any need for the critic's choice awards in this game. :lmao:

Seriously though, I think the voting will improve the next round after people have gotten over the initial shock. It's interesting that there has been more feedback than usual with fewer votes. :hmm:
 
I think voting in this particular game is tough because the lists are fairly similar. Axver gets credit because his list was the most varied of all the sets, imo. Mine obviously the least, stuck in time waiting for a flux capacitor :wink: but I knew that when I started.

Since I haven't seen the other games, are the lists comprised of any songs you want, regardless of genre? That would be more fun, me thinks. :ohmy:
 
LemonMacPhisto said:
Some of this reminds me of the Wilco song Spiders (Kidsmoke), which clocks in at about 10 minutes long. It would make a really good 5 or 6 minute song, but the way it's structured makes it sound like it goes on forever - the longest 10 minutes of your life. Maybe live it's great, I'd probably agree, but to me it's too long. I think that may be the same issue with some of these tracks.
Click to expand...

That's a really good description of how I feel about that song, too. I've seen them play it live, and it just doesn't seem to sustain itself very well.

I realized I forgot to post my email in the other thread for the links. It's my screen name @ gmail. Thanks.

Axver's is going to take 2 hours to download :scream:
 
Last edited:
Lemonchick said:
How long is each round?

I've already listened to GibsonGirl's but haven't really found the time to listen to Axver's. I started last night but it was late and I find that I have to be in a particular mood to really sit through some of this music. It's not the music's fault, there's just something wrong with my mind. :wink:
Click to expand...

:lol: that was great.

I'm trying to absorb it all...some of it is pretty intense! I listened to Axver's earlier on my mp3 player, and I'm now about halfway through GG's. I'm definitely being taken somewhere as I'm listening...hope I make it back in time to vote :wink:

(I just flew over Mr. Brau's place, and he gave me the middle finger :(...)
 
So I'm almost done listening to Axver's playlist...this time I actually listened to the whole thing through (GibsonGirl's I listened to over two days).

All this Prog while writing an 8-page biology exam review....:crazy:

I had a bit of a harder time with a few of these songs, and I'm starting to realize that I really just don't like Rush. :slant:
However, tracks 22-30 have blown me away completely :drool:.

I don't know, this is really difficult...I really enjoyed both tracklistings so much and they're both so unique I don't think I can choose. :scream:
Maybe I should just finish listening to Axver's, sleep over it, and vote tomorrow morning.

Edit:
Axver, I *just* noticed the length of that last track. :crazy:
 
The lists are certainly unique. But I think the prog sound overall is kinda consistent and a setlist consisting of it would benefit from some shaking up in between trax. That's why I think adding other stuff (whether it be U2, Ramones, Motown, whatever) would get more people interested in listening. :hmm:

But I'm not complaining, because I love this stuff, and have no problem listening to a few hours straight. But I think after hearing all the lists, I'm progressively getting pooped out on it :wink:
 
Screwtape2 said:


Really? I find every playlist to be very unique. :shrug:

Click to expand...

I'm finding it that way...hopefully I can articulate it when I vote. I almost have to listen again to make any kind of judgement. Both are varied, unique, and enjoyable. I also have a sudden fondness for King Crimson :drool:

I'm also hearing Pink Floyd in pretty much everything. I guess I'm not discerning enough yet :wink:
 
angelordevil said:
I'm also hearing Pink Floyd in pretty much everything.
Click to expand...
:lol:
I've been thinking the exact same thing, just didn't want to say anything because all these Prog freaks might jump me. :reject:
 
What I find hilarious is that people will sit through 5-6 songs in 25 minutes, but if you get one song with the same amount of variation in that 25 minute period, they run in fear and whine about it being too long. :|
 
Axver said:
What I find hilarious is that people will sit through 5-6 songs in 25 minutes, but if you get one song with the same amount of variation in that 25 minute period, they run in fear and whine about it being too long. :|
Click to expand...

I think that's due more to being a novice when it comes to the progressive genre more than anything else. If that was explained better, it probably wouldn't be the case as much.

Case in point is Dark Side Of The Moon - it's really one track, a suite of songs all linked together. That goes on for 40 minutes. If one looked at it that way, it might change their thinking towards other long prog pieces.

I'll bet if Stranger In Your Soul was displayed as five or six separate tracks that formed a suite, it wouldn't get the initial reaction it sometimes gets.
 
I think I'm going to have to sit out the first round, since I won't have time to listen to everything before voting closes. This time of year, I don't like to leave my computer on overnight because of storms, so I didn't get both lists downloaded yet. I'll definitely still listen to both mixes, though. I'd forgotten that the playlists were four hours, or I would've gotten a head start on them over the weekend. :reject:
 
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